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Faculty and Researchers



Mike De Lasaux: Demonstration project thinning small trees

De Lasaux is overseeing a seven-county demonstration project in the northern Sierra Nevada that is showing non-industrial forest owners how to mechanically thin dense stands of small trees with small-scale logging equipment. Wildland fires are becoming increasingly common as more people move to rural areas, De Lasaux says. We must alleviate the wildfire risk by reducing excessive fuel accumulations in the wildland areas. De Lasaux is a natural resources advisor for Plumas and Sierra Counties.

Mike De Lasaux can be reached by phone at (530) 283-6125. Email: mjdelasaux (at) ucdavis (dot) edu

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Keith Gilless: Developing fire fighting strategies

Keith Gilless, UC Berkeley professor of forest economics in the College of Natural Resources and Dean of the College of Natural Resources. Area of expertise -- Wildland fire protection planning; forest economics and management; evaluation of prescribed burning.

Gilless studies large urban-wildland fires, including the Oakland-Berkeley and Santa Barbara fires. These studies were designed to evaluate the probability of a house within the fire perimeter surviving as a function of the house's structural characteristics, its surrounding vegetation, and the defensive actions taken to protect it. The results of these studies highlighted the importance of nonflammable roofs and vegetation management programs to reduce fire losses in interface areas.

He has also worked on computer simulation models that assist agencies in evaluation of dispatching policies and stationing strategies for firefighting resources. The simulation has been used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and other agencies to analyze their wildland fire protection plans.

Keith Gilless can be reached at 101 Giannini Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114. Phone: (510) 642-6388. Email: gilless (at) nature (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

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Peng Gong: Identifying content of smoke from fires

Peng Gong, UC Berkeley professor of remote sensing in the College of Natural Resources. Areas of expertise -- Remote sensing, map analysis, fire emissions. He has developed a computer simulation model that estimates the amounts of gases and particulate matter emitted from wildfires. Particulate matter such as PM-2.5 and PM-10 can be harmful to the lungs. Using remote sensing, Gong and his group can identify hot spots where fires are burning. He can also measure the extent of burned areas by using weather satellites to examine the die-back of vegetation.

Currently his lab is creating a historical map of forest fires in North America using weather satellite images that are available on a daily basis. "There is no national fire archive that is compiled with data from the same sources using the same methods," Gong says, "Every county has a record of local fires, but they're not consistent. We are creating a standardized history of large fires that burned from 1989 through 2000 to establish a database that documents when and where fires happened and how many acres were burned." Gong is fluent in Mandarin as well as English.

Peng Gong can be reached at UC Berkeley, Ecosystem Sciences, 137 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114. Phone: (510) 642-5170. Email: gong (at) nature (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

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Richard Harris: Landowner Stewardship essential to reducing wildfire risks

Richard Harris, Cooperative Extension Forestry Specialist (Emeritus) with UC Berkeley, has developed educational materials for forest landowners that allow them to develop stewardship plans for their forests. These stewardship plans have been used by landowners for a broad array of forest uses, including reduction of fire hazards and maintenance of sustainable forest structures. Harris has also developed a series of workshops and other educational materials designed to minimize erosion from forest land areas.

Richard Harris is Cooperative Extension Forestry Specialist in the College of Natural Resources. Phone: (530) 642-2360. Email: rrharris (at) nature (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

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Maggi Kelly: Monitoring Ecosystem Response to Changing Fire Regimes

Maggi Kelly, Cooperative Extension Specialist and faculty director of the Geospatial Innovation Facility is an essential link because of her expertise in GIS and landscape change. Her research program is positioned to provide statewide tracking of resource changes related to fire, and provides the data and expertise to model potential landscape level ecosystem responses to changing fire, and climate regimes.

Maggi Kelly can be reached at UC Berkeley, Ecosystem Sciences, 137 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114. Phone: (510) 642-7272. Email: mkelly (at) nature (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

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Susie Kocher: Tahoe's Angora Fire Recovery

Kocher is initiating a research project to study how forestland that burned in the early summer 2007 Angora Fire recovers. She will compare land owned by the California Tahoe Conservancy, on which the partially burned trees are being salvaged, with land owned by the U.S. Forest Service that will be left alone for at least a few years while the agency undertakes a process required by federal laws to determine its fate. "A third of the fire area burned very severely and all the trees are dead. About half the area burned moderately. Some trees may still be dying off. The remainder of the fire area burned very lightly. Those trees are in good shape because their competition was thinned out," Kocher said. Kocher helped the Conservancy inventory their burned lands and, in late August, crews were salvaging the wood. "Some believe salvage logging gets the area ready for regrowth, others would rather allow the natural process to take place. We'll be able to compare the different approaches," Kocher said.

Susie Kocher can be reached at by phone at (530) 542-2571. Email: skocher (at) nature (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

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Doug McCreary: Helping oak trees survive prescribed burns

Doug McCreary, area natural resources Cooperative Extension Specialist for the northern Sierra Nevada for Berkeley's College of Natural Resources. Areas of expertise -- oak regeneration, woodland management and agroforestry. McCreary has examined the effects of wildfires on oak trees. He is also working on a project that is examining the effects of prescribed fires on oaks and identifying steps that can be taken to protect trees from severe damage in areas where prescribed burning is used to reduce fuel loads and noxious weeds. Oaks, in general, have evolved with fire in California and are well adapted to survive its effects, McCreary said. They can sprout back from their stumps, even when the above ground part of the tree is dead.

Doug McCreary is the manager of UC's Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program, and is located at the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center, 8279 Scott Forbes Road, Browns Valley, CA 95918. Phone: (530) 639-8807. Email: ddmccreary (at) ucdavis (dot) edu

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Glenn Nader: "Fire safe" councils helping avert tragedy

Nader has extensive experience working with citizens and agencies on post-fire rehabilitation. He has assembled information on what communities can do in post-fire response, and worked with communities in the formation of two "fire safe" councils that earned more than $1 million in grant funding to create evacuation plans, shaded fuel breaks and fuel treatments, hand clearing, goat grazing and biomass harvesting. "I've seen the devastating impact wildfire has on communities," Nader says. "Given fuel dynamics and the continuing migration of people into forest communities, it's not a question of if a fire will occur, but when." Nader is an advisor for Sutter, Yuba, and Butte Counties.

Glenn Nader can be reached by phone at (530) 822-7515. Email: ganader (at) ucdavis (dot) edu

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Gary Nakamura: Communities are key to forest stewardship & fire prevention

Gary Nakamura, area forestry Cooperative Extension Specialist for Northern California and co-director of Berkeley's Center for Forestry. Areas of expertise -- forest management, silviculture, biomass harvesting, community-based forestry. Nakamura is working with community-based groups, Fire Safe Councils, and Resource Conservation Districts to help them understand fire issues and the role and impacts of biomass harvesting on fuels and fire. "The larger issue is maintaining healthy forests and human communities," Nakamura says, "I believe the long-term, ecologically, economically and politically sustainable maintenance of healthy forests will depend upon the understanding and action of local communities." Nakamura gave fire prevention workshops for homeowners in Idyllwild and Lake Arrowhead in June.

Gary Nakamura is a member of Berkeley's College of Natural Resources, and is located in the UC Cooperative Extension office in Shasta County. His address is: UC Cooperative Extension, 1851 Hartnell Avenue, Redding, CA 96002-2217. Phone: (530) 224-4902. Email: nakamura (at) nature (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

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Steve Quarles: Protecting homes in the wildland-urban interface

Steve Quarles, wood performance and durability Cooperative Extension advisor. Areas of expertise -- performance and durability of wood and wood-based products subjected to wildfire and moisture exposures and physical properties of wood. Protecting homes from wildfire is best achieved by combining vegetation management techniques around the house with our understanding of fire-resistant construction materials and design. Quarles says, "It is important to remember that the construction materials used in homes at as a system, and we should understand performance implications associated with changes in materials and design. For example, eliminating soffit vents may be good for preventing entry of fire and embers into the attic, but may result in moisture related problems long before a wildfire occurs." Quarles is responsible for the developing and implementing the outreach and applied research program on durability issues related to the in-service performance of wood and wood-based products and wood-framed structures. Click here to view more information about specific home features vulnerable to fire.

Steve Quarles can be contacted at the UC Richmond Field Station, Bldg. 478, 1301 South 46th Street, Richmond, CA 94804. Phone (510) 665-3580. Email: steve (dot) quarles (at) nature (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

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Tom Scott: Wildlife specialist examines role of policy

Tom Scott, of Berkeley's College of Natural Resources, is area natural resources wildlife specialist for Southern California. Areas of expertise -- conservation of wildlife, wildlife management at the urban-wildland interface, and response of wildlife to human disturbances. After a catastrophic 1993 fire season, Scott was instrumental in developing subsequent meetings and a book on fire ecology, management and policy.

Tom Scott, part of the Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program, and the College of Natural Resources at Berkeley Campus, is housed at UC Riverside, Earth Sciences, 2217 Geology Building, Riverside, CA 92521-0424. Phone: (951) 827-5115. Email: tomscott (at) citrus (dot) ucr (dot) edu

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John Shelly: Finding new ways to utilize "biomass"

John Shelly, forest products and biomass utilization Cooperative Extension advisor. Areas of expertise -- forest products, wood manufacturing methods, biomass utilization, physical properties of wood. "'Biomass' is a broad term we wood scientists use to describe the trees, shrubs and other vegetation that accumulate to unacceptably high levels in coniferous forests, oak woodland, rangeland and even in urban forests," Shelly says. "This material can create high fire risk, endanger ecosystem health and threaten forest productivity. Finding uses for this biomass can help offset the cost of managing wildfire fuels and lower the risk of catastrophic fires." Shelly manages a program in UC Cooperative Extension that is helping individuals, businesses and communities find new ways to utilize woody biomass. Current projects are focused on small-diameter trees, forest thinnings, underutilized hardwoods and urban trees.

John Shelly can be contacted at the UC Richmond Field Station, Bldg 478, 1301 South 46th Street, Richmond, CA 94804. Phone (510) 665-3491. Email: john (dot) shelly (at) nature (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

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William Stewart: Thinning oaks to reduce fire threat

Bill Stewart, Cooperative Extension Specialist. Areas of expertise include forest management, resource economics, and watershed management. His interests center around improving the positive financial linkages between working forests and rangelands, as well as urban residents, using a place-based approach. Therefore, a major component of his program is focused on understanding and addressing the constraints and opportunities at individual watersheds scales around the state. Stewart has extensive experience in these issues having spent many years with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Bill can be reached at UC Berkeley, 137 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114. Phone: (510) 643-3130. Email: stewart (at) nature (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

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David Wood: Bark beetles killing trees in S. California

David Wood, UC Berkeley entomologist. Areas of expertise -- the biology and ecology of bark beetles. Wood studies insect and pathogen activity, most recently studying the bark beetle infestation of pine forests in Southern California. Bark beetles have killed off millions of trees in the region, leading to acres of dead trees and foliage that have provided fuel for the wildfires. The beetle infestation has further exacerbated the stress in the forests caused by one of the most severe droughts this past century.

David Wood can be reached at UC Berkeley, 137 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114. Phone: (510) 642-5538. Email: bigwood (at) nature (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

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